Though lyrically grim, the album is alt-rock at it’s catchiest, strongly melodic with a danceable backbeat. DeKalb will be equally as fortunate, given a chance to catch the band at 8 p.m. Friday at The House Cafe, 263 E Lincoln Highway.

Oh My God, consisting of vocalist Billy O’Neill and organist Ig (a nostalgic stage name derived from his childhood alter-ego Iguana), have become known for their misfortune. In 1999, they lost all their equipment in a building fire that led to 10 years of legal trouble. On their 2004 tour, their van was broken into and rear ended (two separate occurrences) costing them most of their gear. In 2007, the band was seriously injured in a head-on collision with a drunk driver going 55 mph in the wrong lane at noon. In 2009, O’Neill began his divorce and Ig’s wife was diagnosed with cancer.

With such a difficult past, you would expect their newest release to be akin to emotionally debilitated grind core. Instead, Oh My God has crafted 10 poignantly genuine songs that reflect the highs and lows of life. Downplaying their trademark distorted organ for a more classic rock piano, and focusing on a wider range of O’Neill’s crescendoing voice, the album swells with emotion. Almost conversely, the driving rhythms reflect an upbeat punk rock influence that leaves its fingerprints throughout the songs. “The Night Undoes the Work of the Day” is an artful balancing act between melancholy and hope.

The dualism that the record coveys is represented by the album title said Ig. Taken from the 1951 Robert Bresson film, “The Diary of a Country Priest,” the line is one spoken by one priest to another.

“It’s such a two-sided line. On the one hand, it reflects the feeling of futility we all feel sometimes, as each day ends and we have to get up and do it all again. The coming of the night coldly wipes away what we achieved that day [like Groundhog Day or Sisyphus],” said Ig. “On the other hand, ‘The night undoes the work of the day’ can be read to reflect the miraculous capacity for renewal that life offers us. Whatever ill will, scuttled plans or utter boredom we might meet during the day are over by nightfall, and we receive a fresh chance to right our course.”